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• COVID-19: Lessons Learned to Prepare for the Next Pandemic, Hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session on Examining Covid-19, Focusing on Lessons Learned to Prepare for the Next Pandemic, June 23, 2020

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  This is the June 23, 2020 hearing on "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]: Lessons Learned to Prepare for the Next Pandemic," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. From the opening statement of Lamar Alexander: "During the last 20 years, four Presidents, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and several Congresses have enacted nine significant laws to help local, state, and Federal Governments, as well as hospitals and health care providers, to prepare for a public health emergency including a pandemic. [...] [R]eports contained all sorts of warnings that the United States needed to address the following familiar issues, familiar by now, better methods to quickly develop tests, treatments, and vaccines, and scale-up manufacturing capacity, better systems to quickly identify emerging infectious diseases, more training for the health care and public health workforces, better distribution of medical supplies, better systems to share information within and among states and between states and the Federal Government. Many reports also warned that while states play the lead role in a public health response, many states didn't have enough trained doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals, had inadequate stock piles, and struggled with funding challenges. In some instances, over-reliance on inflexible Federal funding contributed to these problems. Looking at lessons learned from the COVID crisis thus far, many of the challenges that Congress has worked to address during the last 20 years still remain. Additionally, COVID-19 has exposed some gaps that had not been previously identified. These include unanticipated shortages of testing supplies and sedative drugs which are necessary to use ventilators for COVID-19 patients. [...] I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and I would also appreciate the feedback we are receiving on the white paper." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: William Frist, Joneigh S. Khaldun, Julie L. Gerberding, and Michael O. Leavitt.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Recognizing and Building on the Success of Pandemic Relief Programs, Hearing Before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, September 22, 2021

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  This is the September 22, 2021 hearing on "Recognizing and Building on the Success of Pandemic Relief Programs," held before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. From the opening statement of Amy Klobuchar: "As the coronavirus spread nationwide in the spring of 2020, the economic harm was immediate and devastating. Over 22 million people lost their jobs, and the share of Americans unable to afford their basic expenses, like food, housing, and healthcare, sharply increased. Congress responded to this crisis with unprecedented relief legislation. That response worked. The relief packages we enacted, coming in with the American Rescue Plan, have eased Americans' financial hardships, reduced poverty, and supported a robust economic recovery. [...] Extending the child tax credit expansion, making health insurance more affordable, closing the Medicaid coverage gap, ensuring paid family and medical leave, and making broadband accessible and affordable are just a few of the steps we must take. They are just a few of the elements of the Build Back Better agenda which we must enact to build a better future for all Americans." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Starsky Wilson, H. Luke Shaefer, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, and Indivar Dutta-Gupta.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium: Final Report

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  From the Webpage Description: "The ability to sequence and understand different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] virus and their impact is crucial to inform policy and public health decisions. Soon after the UK went into its first lockdown in March 2020, the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium was launched. COG-UK is a collaboration of experts in pathogen genomics including academic institutions, public health agencies, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, NHS [National Health Service] Trusts and Lighthouse Labs. RAND Europe evaluated how COG-UK delivered against its objectives, for example how it contributed to advancing scientific knowledge about SARS-CoV-2, informing public health decisions, and providing information that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments. The evaluation also examined the diverse factors that influenced COG-UK progress and impact, including enablers and challenges, and considered implications for the future."

  RAND Europe

  Marjanovic, Sonja; Romanelli, Robert J.; Ali, Gemma-Claire . . .

  2022
• Incorporating Complementary and Integrative Health Providers in the Public Health Pandemic Response: Lessons from COVID-19 and Recommendations for the Future from a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel

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  From the Webpage Description: "Complementary and integrative health (CIH) providers, such as chiropractors and naturopathic doctors, have been an underutilized public health asset in the response to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. This report seeks to inform how they can be better integrated into future responses to public health emergencies. The authors convened an expert panel of ten CIH and public health practitioners and researchers for a daylong discussion of how the CIH workforce could be better mobilized during future crises. In this report, the authors summarize the key barriers identified in the discussion and make recommendations on how they can be overcome."

  RAND Corporation

  Coulter, Ian D., 1945-; Whitley, Margaret D.; Khorsan, Raheleh . . .

  2022
• Capital Access for Minority Small Businesses: COVID-19 Resources for an Equitable and Sustainable Recovery, Hearing Before the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, July 23, 2020

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  This is the July 23, 2020 hearing on "Capital Access for Minority Small Businesses: COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Resources for an Equitable and Sustainable Recovery," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. From the opening statement of Marco Rubio: "The purpose of this hearing is to focus specifically on the even greater impact that the pandemic has had on minority-owned small businesses. Bad as it is for all small businesses, it is catastrophic and terrible. It has been even worse, if you can imagine it, among minority-owned businesses. [...] So the two goals we have specifically to address is this disparity and the damage that is being done but also the concern that there will be a disparity in the recovery, that if some of these businesses go under, they will not be there to be able to recover and thrive." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Talibah Bayles, Ronald Busby, Sr., Fabiana Estrada, and Marla Bilonick.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• COVID-19: Update on Progress Toward Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School, Hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session on Examining COVID-19, Focusing on an Update on Progress Toward Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School, June 30, 2020

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  This is the June 30, 2020 hearing on "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]: Update on Progress Toward Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. From the opening statement of Lamar Alexander: "This hearing is an opportunity for an update and to hear from the Nation's top health experts on how headmasters, principals, superintendents, chancellors, and college presidents can open their schools safely[.] [...] The question before the country today is not whether to go back to school or college, or childcare or work, but how to do it safely. Even though COVID-19 does not, in general, hurt young children and college age students nearly as much as older and more vulnerable Americans, there is some health risk. [...] I look forward to hearing from our distinguished witnesses how school leaders and college presidents can safely reopen 135,000 schools and 6,000 colleges, and also learning the latest developments on testing and treatments that we can expect during the year 2020 before vaccines arrive." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Anthony Fauci, Robert Redfield, Brett Giroir, and Stephen Hahn.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Southeast Asia Strategic Multilateral Biosecurity Dialogue with Participation from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States [December 14 and 16, 2021]

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  From the Introduction: "On December 14 and 16, 2021, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security held a second virtual meeting of the Southeast Asia Strategic Multilateral Biosecurity Dialogue. The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, including health risks as well as quarantine requirements and other travel restrictions, necessitated hosting the meeting virtually. Additionally, many of our dialogue participants play important roles in their country's COVID-19 response, which makes it difficult for them to take time away from work for travel. In order to maintain the relationships that are so critical to the success of this dialogue and to share lessons from national-level COVID-19 response activities, we held a second virtual meeting, which built on the topics and challenges discussed in our previous meeting in February 2021. [...] This dialogue meeting consisted of 4 1-hour dialogue sessions across 2 meeting days. The meetings included participants from each of the 6 participating countries, including subject matter experts and current and former senior government officials from across healthcare and public health, national security and foreign affairs, homeland security/ home affairs, nonproliferation and disarmament, animal and agricultural health, journalism, and other relevant fields. The dialogue topics included an overview of the national-level COVID-19 responses since our February 2021 meeting and discussions on disease surveillance and vaccination activities. Notably, the participants also looked beyond the current pandemic to future biosecurity challenges, including identifying solutions from the COVID-19 pandemic that could be applicable to other threats."

  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Center for Health Security

  Cicero, Anita; Shearer, Matthew P.; Kaushal, Natasha

  2022
• Vaccine Allocation Priorities Using Disease Surveillance and Economic Data

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  From the Abstract: "Vaccination is a critical tool, along with suppression and treatment, for controlling epidemics such as SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2]. To maximize the impact of vaccination, doses should be allocated to the highest value targets, accounting for health and potential economic benefits. We examine what allocation strategy is optimal and how to translate that strategy into actionable procurement decisions in the context of India. We compare 3 different allocation strategies (oldest first, highest contact rate first, random order) across 4 outcomes (lives saved, life years saved, value of statistical lives saved, value of statistical life years saved). We make 3 methodological contributions. First, we estimate the incremental health benefit of vaccination using novel, local seroprevalence data from India. Second, we estimate the value of statistical life year using disaggregated, monthly data on consumption during the pandemic. Third, and most importantly, we estimate social demand curves for vaccines that can practically guide government procurement decisions. Our analysis yields 4 novel findings. First, the need to speed-up vaccination does not justify deviation from elderly-first prioritization. Second, much of the value of vaccination comes from improvements in consumption rather than longevity. Moreover, vaccination increases the value of a life year because it increases consumption. Third, social demand for vaccination falls over time as natural immunity from infections increases. Therefore, the slower a country vaccinates its population, the fewer doses it should procure. Fourth, there is enough variation in consumption and infection risk that it makes sense to vaccinate some areas before others. Our approach of connecting epidemiological models and data on health and consumption to economic valuation methods generalizes to other infection control strategies, such as suppression, and public health crises, such as influenza and HIV."

  Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics

  Malani, Anup; Soman, Satej; Ramachandran, Sabareesh . . .

  2022-01
• Future of Telehealth: How COVID-19 is Changing the Delivery of Virtual Care, Virtual Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, March 2, 2021

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  This is the March 2, 2021 hearing on "Future of Telehealth: How COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] is Changing the Delivery of Virtual Care," held before the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. From the opening statement of Anna G. Eshoo: "I think it is time to make Medicare reimbursement for telehealth service permanent. [...] We are quickly learning how telehealth can be used to address specialty shortages. [...] I know that telehealth isn't the silver bullet for the deeper problems that exist in our healthcare system, but it has demonstrated great promise for high-quality, innovative care if we intentionally create legislation that fits our Nation's needs. Now that Medicare beneficiaries and Americans are receiving this important benefit, we need to find a way to continue affordable telehealth access for seniors and other Americans. So, from today's hearing, we will learn from providers, payers, and patients about their experiences with telehealth and be better able to chart a legislative path forward to deliver on the promise of telehealth." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Megan Mahoney, Ateev Mehrotra, Elizabeth Mitchell, Jack Resneck, and Frederic Riccardi.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Building Vaccine Confidence: Our Shot at Curbing the Pandemic in Chicago and Beyond, Hearing Before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, November 10, 2021

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  This is the November 10, 2021 hearing on "Building Vaccine Confidence: Our Shot at Curbing the Pandemic in Chicago and Beyond," held before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. From the opening statement of Raja Krishnamoorthi: "As we vaccinate young children, we must continue to address vaccine hesitancy in historically underserved communities. We must continue the hyperlocal outreach that is working in Chicago. That means sending trusted messengers into their communities, and it means overall building vaccine confidence. We are going to hear from many people today about how well this approach works. We are going to hear from Mayor Lightfoot, who spearheaded the Protect Chicago 77 program, a community engagement program working to ensure 77 percent of Chicagoans 12 and older, across all 77 Chicago communities, have started their vaccinations by year's end. Chicago is getting close; it is at 75 percent, and climbing. To help get to 77 percent, every Chicagoan can talk to friends and loved ones about the vaccine. Businesses can require vaccinations for their staff and patrons. And we don't want to just hear from government leaders. We will be hearing from people who are out in their communities, doing the hard work of on-the-ground outreach." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Lori Lightfoot, Ngozi Ezike, Helene D. Gayle, Omar Khan, Martha Martinez, Don Abram, Ben O'Donnell, and Joseph Kanter.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Global Supply Chain Disruptions and Inflation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  From the Document: "We investigate the role supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic played in U.S. producer price index (PPI) inflation. We exploit pre-pandemic cross-industry variation in sourcing patterns across countries and interact it with measures of international supply chain bottlenecks during the pandemic. We show that exposure to global supply chain disruptions played a significant role in U.S. cross-industry PPI inflation between January and November 2021. If bottlenecks had followed the same path as in 2019, PPI inflation in the manufacturing sector would have been 2 percentage points lower in January 2021 and 20 percentage points lower in November 2021."

  Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

  LaBelle, Jesse; Santacreu, Ana Maria

  2022
• Green Costa Rican COVID-19 Recovery: Aligning Costa Rica's Decarbonization Investments with Economic Recovery

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  From the Document: "In this report, we seek to understand in what ways the implementation of Costa Rica's National Decarbonization Plan, which would lead to an unprecedented economic transformation, could align with emergent needs for a just and robust recovery from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The intended audience of this report includes policymakers in Costa Rica and other Latin American countries and individuals working toward decarbonization worldwide."

  RAND Corporation

  Groves, David G.; Molina-Perez, Edmundo; Syme, James . . .

  2022
• Small Business in Crisis: The 2020 Paycheck Protection Program and Its Future, Hearing Before the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, December 10, 2020

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  This is the December 10, 2020 hearing on "Small Business in Crisis: The 2020 Paycheck Protection Program and Its Future," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. From the opening statement of Marco Rubio: "The hearing will come to order, and today's hearing will be focused on the Paycheck Protection Program. I would like to thank everyone that is joining us, both in person and virtually. I want to welcome our witnesses before the Committee. I believe we have two virtually and two here in person. This pandemic, of course, has affected virtually every part of our lives--our health, our education, our jobs, our communities, our families, our economy, even the way we conduct business here." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Iman McFarland, Dafina Williams, and Thomas G. Zernick.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Lessons for Nuclear Security from the UK's Response to Covid-19

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  From the Executive Summary: "The Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has complicated nuclear operations around the world including the implementation of nuclear security. While the pandemic's impact and responses to it have varied from country to country, there exist common challenges faced by the nuclear sector. These include an increase in worker absenteeism due to infections and enforced isolation, restrictions on onsite numbers and the proximity of staff to minimise the risk of transmission, a large-scale transition to remote working and disruption to key supply chains. This policy brief seeks to explore the impact of these and other challenges faced by the UK nuclear sector, examining how they have affected the delivery of security and the efficacy of new measures put in place to mitigate potential risks."

  King's College London. Centre for Science & Security Studies

  Tzinieris, Sarah; Hobbs, Christopher (Christopher Leslie); Foster, George

  2022
• Race Against Time: Deploying Vaccines and Addressing the Disproportionate Impacts of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and International Economic Policy of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, May 13, 2021

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  This is the May 13, 2021 hearing on "Race Against Time: Deploying Vaccines and Addressing the Disproportionate Impacts of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] in Latin America and the Caribbean," held before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and International Economic Policy of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. From the Opening Statement of Albio Sires: "Last Congress, we held two hearings to examine the impact of the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean and the U.S. Government's response. In July 2020, when we hosted the Acting Assistant Secretary, Ambassador Kozak, we discussed with him the urgent need in the region for more personal protective equipment and masks. Today, that urgent need is vaccines. I ask President Biden, Vice President Harris, and their administration to answer the call. The U.S. is expected to have over 400 million excess vaccines, even if we vaccinated every adult in the United States--even if we vaccinated every adult in the United States. In New Jersey, more than 7.7 million doses have been administered already, and I am working hard to ensure everyone in my district can easily get access to a vaccine. But the truth is that none of us will be fully safe from this virus until we all are. Time is of the essence, and we cannot afford any further delays." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Arachu Castro, Tatiana Bertolucci, and R. Evan Ellis.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• U.S. Equity-First Vaccination Initiative: Early Insights [2022]

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  From the Document: "The Equity-First Vaccination Initiative (EVI) aims to reduce racial disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rates in the United States and, over the longer term, to strengthen the public health system to achieve more-equitable outcomes. To accomplish these goals, The Rockefeller Foundation has funded demonstration sites in Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Newark, New Jersey; and Oakland, California, to plan and implement hyper-local, place-based strategies to increase vaccine confidence and access for communities that identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). This interim report introduces the initiative and the anchor partners in each of the five demonstration sites, highlights the initial work of selected community-based organizations to which the anchor partners are making subgrants, synthesizes lessons learned across the EVI in its first three months, and suggests policy implications for decisionmakers to consider as they seek to support hyper-local, community-driven efforts to reduce inequities in COVID-19 vaccination."

  RAND Corporation

  Faherty, Laura J.; Ringel, Jeanne S.; Williams, Malcolm V. . . .

  2022
• Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality

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  From the Abstract: "This systematic review and meta-analysis are designed to determine whether there is empirical evidence to support the belief that 'lockdowns' reduce COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] mortality. Lockdowns are defined as the imposition of at least one compulsory, non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI). NPIs are any government mandate that directly restrict peoples' possibilities, such as policies that limit internal movement, close schools and businesses, and ban international travel. This study employed a systematic search and screening procedure in which 18,590 studies are identified that could potentially address the belief posed. After three levels of screening, 34 studies ultimately qualified. Of those 34 eligible studies, 24 qualified for inclusion in the meta-analysis. They were separated into three groups: lockdown stringency index studies, shelter-in-place-order (SIPO) studies, and specific NPI studies. An analysis of each of these three groups support the conclusion that lockdowns have had little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality. More specifically, stringency index studies find that lockdowns in Europe and the United States only reduced COVID-19 mortality by 0.2% on average. SIPOs were also ineffective, only reducing COVID-19 mortality by 2.9% on average. Specific NPI studies also find no broad-based evidence of noticeable effects on COVID-19 mortality. While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted. In consequence, lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument."

  Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise

  Herby, Jonas; Jonung, Lars; Hanke, Steve H.

  2022-01
• Inequality Kills: The Unparalleled Action Needed to Combat Unprecedented Inequality in the Wake of COVID-19

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  From the Summary: "A new billionaire has been created every 26 hours since the pandemic began. The world's 10 richest men have doubled their fortunes, while over 160 million people are projected to have been pushed into poverty. Meanwhile, an estimated 17 million people have died from COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]--a scale of loss not seen since the Second World War. These issues are all part of the same, deeper malaise. It is that inequality is tearing our societies apart. It is that violence is rigged into our economic systems. It is that inequality kills. The coronavirus pandemic has been actively made deadlier, more prolonged, and more damaging to livelihoods because of inequality. Inequality of income is a stronger indicator of whether you will die from COVID-19 than age. Millions of people would still be alive today if they had had a vaccine--but they are dead, denied a chance while big pharmaceutical corporations continue to hold monopoly control of these technologies. This vaccine apartheid is taking lives, and it is supercharging inequalities worldwide."

  Oxfam International

  Ahmed, Nabil

  2022-01
• Limited Supply and Lagging Enrollment: Production Technologies and Enrollment Changes at Community Colleges During the Pandemic

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  From the Abstract: "Weak labor markets typically lead young workers to invest in skills. High unemployment during COVID [coronavrius disease] diverged from prior downturns: enrollment at community colleges dropped by 9.5 percent between 2019 and 2020, with the drop larger among men. COVID disruptions generated supply-side impacts on courses of study requiring significant capital and 'hands on' experiential learning, particularly programs that deliver of assembly, repair and maintenance (ARM) skills. Community colleges that had relative concentrations of credentials in ARM fields pre-pandemic experienced relatively large enrollment declines. The decline in ARM enrollment explains nearly all the difference in enrollment declines by gender during COVID."

  National Bureau of Economic Research

  Turner, Sarah E., 1966-; Schanzenbach, Diane, 1972-

  2022-01
• Drug Safety: FDA Should Take Additional Steps to Improve Its Foreign Inspection Program, Report to Congressional Requesters

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  From the Highlights: "FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of all drugs marketed in the U.S., regardless of where they are produced. Globalization--and the outbreak of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]--have complicated FDA's oversight of the more than 4,000 establishments manufacturing drugs for the U.S. HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] reported that 73 percent of establishments manufacturing active ingredients, and 52 percent of those manufacturing finished drugs for the U.S., were located overseas as of March 2021. GAO's [Government Accountability Office] concerns about FDA's ability to oversee the increasingly global drug supply chain led it to designate the issue as a high risk area in 2009. GAO was asked to update its work on FDA's foreign drug inspection program. This report (1) describes the number of inspections prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) examines steps taken to address challenges related to preannouncing foreign inspections and language barriers, and (3) examines efforts to maintain a sufficient inspection workforce, among other objectives."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2022-01
• Center for Global Health: Making an Impact Through Global Partnerships

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  From the Document: "In 2010, CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] established the Center for Global Health, recognizing that domestic and global health are indivisible and that no country can protect the health of its citizens in isolation from the rest of the world." The following areas are covered in this report: "CDC's 75 Years in Public Health"; "CDC's Technical Expertise and Partnerships Promote Health Security and Global Good"; "Global Programs Help Countries Adapt to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]"; "CDC Provides Technical Assistance to COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout"; "Global Partnerships Save Lives'; "Progress in Addressing Leading Causes of Death and Disability"; and "Looking Forward."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022
• Global Opportunity to Combat Preventable Disease: How to Use Covid-19 Infrastructure to Transform Public Health Worldwide

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  From the Executive Summary: "Over the coming years there will be a range of new vaccines not only for pathogens like Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], but also for tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/ AIDS, dengue and other diseases. Given recent advancements in the development of therapeutics, we should also push the traditional definition of a vaccine to include preventative injectables for conditions including HIV, cardiometabolic disease and common cancers. At least 10 million deaths per year are attributable to diseases with existing or forthcoming adult vaccines and preventative injectable therapies - deaths that could also be reduced through a system of adult public-health interventions. But Covid-19 has exposed some chronic deficiencies in the global architecture for delivering such a huge programme."

  Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

  Alkasir, Ahmad; Berry, Tamsin; Britto, David . . .

  2022-01
• Pulse-Check: Exploration of Early COVID-19 Pandemic Health Care and Public Health Responses in Select Middle East Nations

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  From the Document: "This report outlines the results of an exploratory analysis of five countries--Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, and Tunisia--to identify strategies and innovations used by health care systems and public health and policies implemented or attempted by governments during the ongoing COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. We performed an environmental scan of relevant peer-reviewed and gray literature from January 2020 through March 2021 and collected qualitative data from focus groups and one-on-one interviews conducted from March through May 2021. Hence, the results reported here reflect data only from these specific time frames during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the amount of available information for each country varied: Some countries had more information than others. This work should be of interest to regional and international stakeholders as they continue to combat the pandemic, and the findings could inform future research around pandemic response."

  RAND Corporation

  Al-Ibrahim, Hamad; Berri, Nasma; Hoch, Emily . . .

  2022
• Clearing the Air: Science-Based Strategies to Protect Workers from COVID-19 Infections, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, March 11, 2021

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  This is the March 11, 2021 hearing on "Clearing the Air: Science-based Strategies to Protect Workers from COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Infections," held before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the Committee on Education and Labor. From the opening statement of Alma S. Adams: "Today we will discuss the imperative to protect worker's health and safety. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed one of the most significant threats to worker's health and safety in a century. Across the country tens of thousands of workers have been infected by COVID-19 on the job, and many thousands have died. [...] And while some of us have the luxury of working from home, these workers who are disproportionately low-income and people of color are risking their lives to keep our communities afloat." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Linsey Marr, David Michaels, Pascaline Muhindura, and Manesh Rath.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Disruption Without Change: The Consequences of COVID-19 on the Global Economic Balance

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  From the Webpage: "The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic upended the global economy, resulting in large losses of gross domestic product worldwide. But by the time the pandemic was well into its second year, an unexpected pattern had emerged. The world's worst pandemic in a century accelerated previous trends but had not changed much about the international economic order. China was the only major economy to show positive economic growth in 2020 relative to 2019 but reversed necessary domestic reforms to do so. The United States was the best-performing advanced Western economy in 2020 but greatly increased its federal debt. Europe and U.S. treaty allies performed less well. Prepandemic trends persisted: China's share of the global economy was growing, that of the United States was holding steady, and that of U.S. allies was declining. In this report, the author reviews the economic track record of the United States; major U.S. competitors China and Russia; and U.S. allies and partners, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and India, to discern how the dramatic economic changes induced by the pandemic could affect geopolitical competition and the future security environment. The author also discusses 'vaccine diplomacy,' the effort to distribute vaccines to developing countries, which is exemplary of how the pandemic has affected global competition. The report draws on official data releases, reports by international organizations, and media reports and uses data released through August 31, 2021. It was completed before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and has not been subsequently revised."

  RAND Corporation

  Shatz, Howard J.

  2022
• View from the States: Governors Respond to the Omicron Variant, Hearing Before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, Second Session, January 20, 2022

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  This is the January 20, 2022 hearing on "View from the States: Governors Respond to the Omicron Variant," held before the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. From the opening statement of James E. Clyburn: "This hearing comes at a pivotal moment in our Nation's response. As we gather today, we are facing new challenges from the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which is resulting in higher case numbers than ever before. However, there is a reason to be hopeful. Earlier research indicates that Omicron causes less severe disease than previous strands of the coronavirus. We have more effective therapeutics at our disposal than ever to treat the disease. And, most importantly, all approved coronavirus vaccines and boosters continue to provide robust protection against severe disease and death from the Omicron variant." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jared Polis, Pedro Pierluisi, Muriel Bowser, Pete Ricketts, and Jay Inslee.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response, Hybrid Hearing Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, September 30, 2021

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  This is the September 30, 2021 hearing on "Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response," held before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jerome H. Powell and Janet L. Yellen.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Lessons Learned in Health Professions Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Part 2: Proceedings of a Workshop

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  From the webpage Description: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic was arguably the greatest disrupter health professional education (HPE) has ever experienced. To explore how lessons learned from this unprecedented event could inform the future of HPE, the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a virtual workshop series in 2020 and 2021. The first workshop focused on identifying challenges faced by educators, administrators, and students amidst the pandemic and how the different stakeholder groups shifted and adapted in response. The second workshop explored how experts from various health professions might respond to hypothetical--but realistic--future world situations impacting HPE. The final two workshops contemplated the future of HPE post-COVID and explored next steps for applying lessons learned from the workshop series to allow educators to test and evaluate educational innovations in real time. This Proceedings of a Workshop summarizes discussions from the second, third, and fourth workshops in this series." Information on Part 1 can be found in HSDL here: [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=865129].

  National Academies Press (U.S.)

  Cuff, Patricia A.; Forstag, Erin Hammers

  2022
• Global Crisis Needs a Global Solution: The Urgent Need to Accelerate Vaccinations Around the World, Hearing Before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, December 14, 2021

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  This is the December 14, 2021 hearing on "Global Crisis Needs a Global Solution: The Urgent Need to Accelerate Vaccinations Around the World," held before the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. From the opening statement of James E. Clyburn: "Experts say that variants are 6 to 8 times more likely to emerge from less developed countries where a lag in vaccination rates create opportunities for the virus to mutate. The more that new virus develop, the greater the risk that there will be more infections, more deadly, and that they will be resistant to the current life-saving vaccines. We have learned from this pandemic just how difficult it is to prevent new variants from reaching our shores once they emerge. The best protection is, therefore, to make sure they do not develop in the first place. By increasing access to vaccines around the globe, we can save lives and protect public health at home." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Ali Khan, Katheryn Russ, Martin Makary, Krishna Udayakumar, and Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Major Test: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Higher Education, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, July 7, 2020

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  This is the July 7, 2020 hearing on "Major Test: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] on the Future of Higher Education," held before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment Committee on Education and Labor. From the opening statement of Susan Davis: "Today, as we know, we are examining how the COVID-19 pandemic is straining our higher education system and discussing what Congress must do to support students and institutions through this difficult time. Across the country, the rush to suspend on-campus activities and switch to online learning has exacerbated preexisting systemic inequities in higher education." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Shaun Harper, Sharon J. Pierce, Scott Pulsipher, and Timothy P. White.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022